Betty Rae’s opening OP ice cream shop in May, deepening Johnson County scoop-print
March 6, 2025 | Joyce Smith
Local favorite Betty Rae’s Ice Cream is expanding in Johnson County — taking a coveted corner spot in the Shoppes at Deer Creek Woods in sprawling Overland Park.
Future Betty Rae’s Ice Cream location at 6936 W. 135th. St. in Overland Park; photo by Joyce Smith
A May opening is scheduled at 6936 W. 135th. St. It will be the sixth Betty Rae’s for the metro. (Hen House Market is an anchor tenant in the center, just east of Metcalf Avenue.)
“When I bought the company two years ago, my intent was really to bring Betty Rae’s to more people in Kansas City,” owner Matt Shatto told Startland News. “We’ve looked at areas where we’re missing out — and where customers are missing out. Southern Johnson County is one of those places. We’re extremely excited to come to a new population, and hopefully they’ll embrace us, like we’re going to embrace them.”
Betty Rae’s Ice Cream serves 26 handmade premium ice cream flavors — from such classics as vanilla bean and chocolate to monthly specials like matcha, Bee’s Knees, and Nutty Professor. It also is known for its collaborations with other high-profile local businesses, incorporating popular ingredients like McLain’s Cinnamon Rolls (McLain’s Bakery) and Joe’s KC BBQ & Burnt Ends (Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que).
The company was founded in 2016. Shatto purchased it in May 2023 and rapidly added three locations.
Now Betty Rae’s has shops in Merriam, Olathe, Prairie Village, the River Market and Waldo, as well as an ice cream truck.
Its ice cream also is carried in 28 Cosentino family-owned Price Chopper, SunFresh, and Cosentino’s Market grocery stores, as well as many Hy-Vees.
Matt Shatto at the Betty Rae’s Ice Cream location in River Market; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Shatto also is franchising Betty Rae’s.
One location opened in Omaha in September and the franchisee is opening another soon.
In late February, Shatto announced seven cities in the region for his franchise footprint: St. Louis, Missouri; Wichita, Kansas; Bentonville, Arkansas; Nashville, Tennessee; Denver, Colorado; and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma.
ICYMI: Why keep Betty Rae’s from the world? KC ice cream shop franchising brand across region
“We wanted to get it to more people in Kansas City. But we didn’t want to limit [the brand] to people in Kansas City,” Shatto said of taking Betty Rae’s regional, then national.
The company is eying franchise partners who will open two to five shops in each market.
Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Photos: Take a look at Virgin Mobile USA’s startup-like office space
Many in the Kansas City startup community often call upon corporations to better engage with earlier stage entrepreneurs. Virgin Mobile USA wants to flip that script, said Justin Scott, Virgin Mobile director of communications. Despite being a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation and backed by billionaire investor Richard Branson, the firm — which selected Kansas City for…
Olathe mayor touts startup community in pitch for Amazon HQ2
With a workforce rich in entrepreneurial spirit, Amazon would be wise to tap Kansas City for its second headquarters, Michael Copeland said. “The climate has cultivated world-class start-up businesses and nurtured corporate giants, and it’s been a source of support and stability for everything in between,” said Copeland, mayor of Olathe. “It fosters risk-taking and…
Hyperloop to AP: Kansas City-St. Louis route among top 5 as finalists narrowed
Kansas City’s hopes to land a high-speed commuter route to St. Louis continue to shoot forward, a Hyperloop official confirmed Thursday. Two weeks after the State of Missouri entered into a public-private partnership with Hyperloop to study the feasibility of a 23-minute supersonic track between the two cities, the Associated Press reports Missouri is a…
After shootings, ‘It’s most important to keep the public safe,’ Smart City leaders say
Citizens expect public safety from their city government to encompass such basics as sidewalks and water, Bob Bennett said. And for that reason, improving public safety must be a top concern for smart city projects around the nation, the chief innovation officer at the City of Kansas City, Missouri, added. “We have to provide the…